Thursday, November 11, 2010

Paulie's Election Sign: People Aren't Fans

Well, the Terry Tremaine hearing seems to be winding down and by all accounts they have been pretty standard fare, Also, as one report that has reached us indicates, they must be very boring for Paulie who has been attending the hearings. At one point, the sound of a loud saw could be heard within the room. When looking for the cause, it became apparent the origin was Paulie who was snoring after having fallen asleep.

Speaking of Paulie, looks like his electioncampaign ads have become an issue (which begs the question, why are they still up considering the election occurred weeks ago?):

The election is over, but a campaign advertisement that appeared on Mississauga Transit buses – and was still running as late as last week – is firing up residents.

The outsized ad, placed prominently on the back of the vehicles and touting mayoralty candidate Paul Fromm, read: "Fight Gridlock: Freeze Immigration."

Fromm is no stranger to controversy. A former Peel District School Board teacher, he was fired in 1997 after he ignored warnings from administrators to stop associating with known racists and white supremacists. The B’Nai Brith and other organizations had complained about his conduct at a series of right-wing political rallies.

Peter Votsch was so offended by Fromm’s sign, he filed a formal complaint with Mississauga Transit.

“It attempts to link immigration to gridlock, topics which have no apparent relation. This ad appears to be an attack on immigration and immigrant communities, bizarrely blaming immigrants to Canada/Mississauga for heavy traffic on our roads. It is a racist ad that attempts to create anti-immigrant sentiment during our municipal election,” he wrote in his complaint.

Votsch wanted to know why such a “blatantly anti-immigrant message” would appear on public transit. He also wants measures taken to prevent such ads from appearing in all public spaces.

Mohammed Khan, a PhD candidate in the department of political science at McMaster University, also denounced the ad.

“Apart from their divisive message, they are also misleading in the way they are worded. To the casual observer they imply as though the message is from the mayor,” he said.

Fromm insists he was not targeting any particular sector.

“Definitely, I oppose all immigration at this time,” he said. “With 8.4 per cent unemployment, Canada should accept no more immigration until we get Canadians back to work. My ads attacked no community. The ads refer to future intake and cast no aspersions on people who are presently here.”

Contacted by The News, Mississauga Transit director Geoff Marinoff said the City of Mississauga is having the ad removed as the contracted period is over.

“CBS Outdoor is the City’s on-board bus and shelter advertising contractor. The terms of the contract require CBS Outdoor to review the advertising creative for an ad both against the City of Mississauga’s advertising policy and the national Canadian Code of Advertising Standards,” said Marinoff.

He noted that if CBS Outdoor views an ad as questionable, it refers it back to City staff.

“The ad was reviewed by staff and placed on buses...as it met both the policy criteria and the advertising standards,” he said.

Fromm’s message did not appear to resonate with voters: He finished in ninth place, with 917 votes.

“Definitely, I oppose all immigration at this time,” [Fromm] said. “With 8.4 per cent unemployment, Canada should accept no more immigration until we get Canadians back to work. My ads attacked no community. The ads refer to future intake and cast no aspersions on people who are presently here.”
True, but it doesn't take long to find out how he DOES feel about certain communities in Mississauga and Canada. Here are but a few choice examples:

1 comment:

The failed mayoral campaign brings to mind what Canada really should fear in terms of immigration: business owners from the US in the wake the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) agreements of Bush, Harper and Calderon. They won't be looking for citizenship, just opportunities for corporate plunder. The mining industry in Canada is an extreme instance of globalization gone wrong, and things might get worse without a concerted challenge. Sorry this is a bit off topic, but I wanted to let Hireath know that I can be found, and have recently been renewing my Fresh Green Blog.There's also a contact form at the Galesburg site:

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